Apparatus for rock piercing and similar operations



Am 1943. R. B. AHTCHESON ETAL 2 s zmss APPARATUS FOR ROCK PIERCING ANDSIMILAR OPERATIONS Filed June 13, 1940 2 Sheets-=Sheet l I INVENTORSROBERT B. AITCHISON CHARLES J. BURCH BY I I e ATTOREY 9194-3 R. B.AITCHI'SQN ETAL 2,327,483

APPARATUS FOR ROCK PIERCiNG AND SIMILAR OPERATIONS Filed June 15, 1:9402 Sheets-Sheet 2 jjg'lja INVENTORS ROBERT B. AHTCHISON' CHARLES .BURCHATTORNEY Patented Aug. 24, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE tion of OhioApplication June 13, 1940, Serial No. 340,276

17 claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for piercing or cutting rock and thelike whereby the dust hazard usually present in such operations may beeliminated, and whereby an operator or other persons near the scene ofoperation may be pro tected from injury by relatively large particles ofrock or the like which may be ejected from the hole or cut withconsiderable force. More par ticularly, the invention relates toliquid-spray shields which, when combined with a rock pierc-' ing orcutting instrumentality, may be operated to lay the dust discharged froma hole or cut, as well as to arrest flying particles of material beforethey have proceeded from the mouth of the hole any great distance.

The apparatus of the present invention is particularly applicable torock piercing by thermal processes, such as the spalling processdescribed in application Serial No. 268,634, filed April I8, 1939, by R.B. Aitchison, C. W. Swartout, and V. C. Williams. Suitable thermalpiercing instru= mentalities for rock piercing are described and claimedin Patent No. 2,286,191 issued June 16; 1942 to R. B. Aitchison C. J.Burch, and C. W. Swartout, and Patent No. 2,286,192 issued on the sameday to R. B. Aitchison, G. Smith, and C. W. Swartout.

In the spelling process of thermal rock piercing described inapplication Serial No. 268,634, an or y-acetylene flame is applied tothe surfaceof a rock, causing the rock to spall and disintegrate locallyto form a hole, with the concurrent productionof dust and relativelylarger particles which blow out of the hole and away from the rocksurface. As spalling progresses and the hole becomes deeper an auxiliarymedium, such as high-pressure air or water streams, often is requiredfor ejecting the dust and larger particles of rock from the hole. Whenthe auxiliary ejection medium isa' gas, such as compressed ainthe hazardfrom dust and flying particles is present throughout the piercingoperation. Whenthe ejection medium is a liquid, such as Water, the dustand larger particles of rock are's'o dampened prior to leaving the mouthof the hole that the hazard is eliminated. At the start of such a.thermal rock piercing operation, and before the hole has been deepenedsufiiciently to require the use of an auxiliary ejection fluid, it isalways necessary to lay the dust and shield the-operator from flyingparticles b extraneous means; This extraneous protection also is neededthroughout the piercing operationw-hen no auxiliary ejection medium isusedas th'ede'pth of thehole increases;

or when the ejection medium is a gas; hut X traneous protectionordinarily may be dispensed with when a liquid debris-ejection medium isemployed, which dampens the debris Before discharge from the mourn ofthe hole.

It has been proposed to lay the dust from mechanicalrock' drilling(iterations by directing: water spra s tdwar'd the surface or me rockand into the mouth of the time. Water sprays directed in this manner"are, newer/"er; or little value for thermal rack piercing because, ifwater is permitted to enter into the; ndie; from the out side, theeffectiveness cf the flames may be impaired seriousl and the efii'i'ntejection of debris" from the hole may be prevented. Furtherifiore, ricrdevices provide no protection to the operator (5r other persons in thevicinity against the larger slie r'ocl; particles which. may fi-y'ffOffi the mouth of the hole" being pierced tl'ierlhally;

The principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to provideapparatus for piercing or cutting rock" and the like whereby the hazardsfrom rock dust and'fiying particleso'f rock r'nay'b'e eliriiin'ated.Other objects" are the provisions: such a paratus" whereby thri'nal rockiercing may be carried out without interference with the piercingoperation itself; the provision of such apparatus will effectively laydust and stop flyin particles when piercing? a" hole in a rock surfadewhich irregular in shape or inclines from thevertical; and theprovisi'o'njot various forms of shields which shall be eilective" anddependable to lay dust and stop flying" particles, yet simple and sturdyin construction and merpensive to manufacture. I

The above and other objects,- and the novel features of the invention,will become apparent from the following description taken with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is'a front elevationalview of one type of shield according to theinvention;'

Fig. 2 isa cross-seotional'view', earn-y in elevaubn, taken along the1i'ne z z or Fig. 1';

Fig. 4; is a view the shield of Figs. 1, 2, and 3 assembled with athermalr'o'c'k' piercin i'n'stru mentality, shown in position forpiercing" a; hole in'a rock;v I

Fig; 5 is a-view looking toward the mouth of the hole in-a rock,showingthe approximate patterfi produced by the liquid sprays from theshield of Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, on the rock surface adjacent to themouth of the hole;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of another type of shield accordingto the invention;

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view, partly in elevation, taken along theline 1-1 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a front elevational view of another type of shield accordingto the invention;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional View, partly in elevation, taken along theline S9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a rear elevational View of the shield of Fig. 8; and

Fig, 11 is a side elevational view showing the shield of Figs. 8, 9, and10 assembled with a rock piercing instrumentality, shown in position forpiercing a hole in a rock having an irregularlyshaped and inclined face.

Generally, apparatus for piercing holes in rock or the like, accordingto the invention, comprises a hollow dish-shaped shield which is mountedtained adjacent to the mouth of the hole or cut 0 being produced withoutinterrupting the progress of the instrumentality. Several liquid-spraynozzles, which are associated with the shield, are adapted to dischargesprays of liquid against the rock face surrounding the hole in such amanner that the individual sprays from the nozzles overlap adjacent tothe hole to thoroughly moisten the dust and larger'particles and preventtheir escape to the surrounding atmosphere. Suitable auxiliary supportsmay be provided, if desired, to at least partially relieve the piercinginstrumentality of the weight of the shield.

More particularly, the preferred type of shield S of the invention, asshown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, comprises a dish-shaped shield-member H,formed of sheet steel, having a frusto-conical wall l2 which is open atits front large-diameter end and at its small-diameter end is providedwith a rear wall [3 having a substantially centrally arranged apertureM. A generally square tubular nozzle-block or header i5, havingchamfered corners and an annular beveled front face H5, is removablysecured to the rear wall 13 within the shield member H with its rearface fiush with the inner surface of the rear wall, by means of bolts,in such a position that the bore i! of theblock registers with theaperture M, which has a slightly greater diameter than the bore IT.

A continuous annular recess or groove H8 in the inner peripheral surfaceof the nozzle block. l5, having a slanting front surface parallel to thebevel l6, forms a distributing chamber with which communicates ahose-connection inlet nipple l9 secured in a bore in the rear wall ofthe block and projecting rearwardly at an angle through an eccentricallyarranged aperture 28 in the rear wall it. Four fiat-spray liquid spraynozzles 2|, of standard construction, are threaded into correspondingequi-spaced internally threaded bores 22 in the beveled front wall 16 ofthe nozzle block l5, and are arranged with their axes diverging fromeach other, and from the axis of the nozzle-block. Each nozzle 2!terminates approximately at the front edge of the shield member l I. Atubular sleeve 23, which is fitted within the bore I! of the nozzleblock and secured to the block as by silver soldering, covers and sealsthe annular groove 18 and projects forward from the block slightlybeyond the front edge of the shieldmember H. The sleeve 23 and theaperture 14 are adapted to permit the insertion of a tubular piercinginstrumentality, such as the blowpipe B, through the shield S, and topermit sliding movement of the shield relatively to the piercinginstrumentality.

Fig. 4 shows the shield of Figs. 1, 2, and 3, mounted upon a thermalrock piercing blowpipe B, with the shield and blowpipe properly arrangedfor piercing a hole H in a large rock R. As shown, the blowpipe Bcomprises a long tubular member 24 which i adapted to be advanced intothe hole I-I progressively as the depth of the hole increases, and arear body 25 having inlet connections 26, 21, 28, and 29 for oxygen,acetylene, compressed air, and cooling water, respectively, which areconnected by flexible tubes to suitable sources of supply. As shown inthe aforementioned Patent 2,286,191, the blowpipe is adapted to conductthe water therethrough in heat exchange relation thereto for cooling theblowpipe. An outlet connection 30 for the cooling water is connected bya flexible conduit or tube 3| to the inlet nipple IQ of the shield S.The tubular portion 2 which extends rearwardly from the front end of theblowpipe, passes through the sleeve of the shield S, and the shieldtherefore can be moved back and forth upon the blowpipe, as desired, tothe proper position. Usually the best results are obtained bymaintaining the forward edge of the shield S about three inches from theface of the rock. The cooling water which is discharged from theblowpipe B is conducted through the tube 3| to the shield S, and sprayedfrom the nozzles 2| against the face of the rock adjacent to andsurrounding the hole H in flat finely-dispersed sprays, the axes ofwhich increase in distance from each other and from the axis of thenozzle block l5 as the distance from the nozzles increases. Theslit-like orifice of each nozzle is so arranged with respect to theorifices of the other nozzles that the adjacent ends of the spraysissuing from adjacent nozzles overlap each other to produce a closedgeometric pattern on the rock face approximately like the sides of asquare, such as shown approximately in Fig. 5, thus preventing theescape of any dust from the vicinity of the hole. Any relatively largeparticles of rock which may be ejected from the hole at a high velocityare caught by the shield-member S, the side wall [2 of which preventslateral dispersion, and fall harmlessly down from its open forward end.

A modified form of shield S according to the present invention is shownin Figs. 6 and 7. In this embodiment of the invention, a circulardish-shaped sheet steel shield-member 32 has a frusto-conical side wall33 which is open at its large-diameter forward end, and has a rear wall34 at its small-diameter end provided with a substantially centrallyarranged aperture 35, as in the modification of Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Atubular sleeve 36, having a bore of slightly smaller diameter than theaperture 35, is removably secured to the outside of the shield-member32, with its bore in registry with the aperture 35, by means of a flange3'! at one end bolted to the rear wall 34. An annular tubular header 38,which also is secured to the outside of the rear wall 34, as by fusionwelding, has an inlet nipple 39 secured thereto, as by welding, which isadapt ed to be connected to a liquid supply conduit. Three equi-spacedpipe nipples 40 are welded to the tubular header 38 in communicationwith the interior of the header, and extend into the interior of theshield-member 32 through apertures in the rear wall34 close to itsedges. Spray nozzles ii, of standard construction, are arranged withtheir axes parallel and are threaded to the pipe nipples 40 within theshield-member 32. The nozzles M terminate approximately at the frontedge of the shield-member 32. A bracket 42, which is secured to the sidewall 33 of the shield-member 32, is adapted to engage a supportingmember ifdesired, such as a tripod, for example, by means of the bore 43extending through the bracket.

The shield of Figs. 6 and 7 functions similarly to the shield of Figs.1, 2, and 3 when slid'ably mounted on a blowpipe' B, which extendsthrough the sleeve 36 and the aperture 535. As the spray nozzles il arearranged with parallel axes, however, and as the spray slots of thethree nozzles .are arranged on the sides of a triangle, the spraypattern produced on the face of a rock during a piercing operation isgenerally triangular in shape and closer to the mouth of the hole thanthat produced by the previously described modification. In a thirdembodiment of the apparatus of the invention, as shown in Figs. 8, 9,and 10, the shield S comprises a cup-shaped shield-member .4 having anopen forward end, side walls, and a rear end wall 45 provided with anaperture 45 surrounded by an inwardly turned flange or sleeve 4?. Thebottom side wall 48 slopes downwardly from the end wall 55 to theforward edge of the shield-member 44, so that any sludge which mayaccumulate in the shield will flow downwardly and be discharged from itsforward end, A second tubular sleeve 49 is arranged within theshield-member 44 intermediate the rear wa1l'45 and the front edge of theshield member, and adjacent to the latter, in axial alignment with theaperture 46. The sleeve 49 is supported by means of a spider comprisingthree supporting rods 5| secured to the sleeve and to the arched topside wall 52 and the vertical side walls 53 and 54, respectively, of theshield. A generally circular dead-ended header tube 55, having threeshort equi-spaoed perpendicular branch tubes 53 communicating with theinterior of the header, is arranged outside of the shieldmember M withthe ends of the branch tubes abutting against the outside surface of therear wall id and registering with eccentrically-arranged apertures inthe rear wall. Three shouldered spray nozzles 51,. arranged withparallel axes within the shield-member 44, extend through thelast-mentioned eccentrically-arranged apertures and are threaded intothe branch tubes 56 with their shoulders abutting against the insidesurface of the rear wall 45, thus securing the header tube 55 to theshieldmember 414. As in the modification of Figs. 6 and 7, the slots ofthe nozzles 51' are arranged as the sides of a triangle, and a generallytriangular spray pattern will be formed on the face of a rock or thelike. A small tube 58, which is secured at one end to the header 55adjacent to the closed end of the latter and is arranged with its otherend within an aperture in the rear wall 55 near the bottom of the wall,is adapted to discharge a stream of liquid, such as water, upon thesloping bottom side wall 48 so that the liquid will flow down the walland Wash accumulated sludge from the forward end of the' shield. Asuitable liquid, such as water, is supplied to the header tube throughani'n'let' tube 59, which is shown integral with the header tube.

When piercing holes in rock having irregularly-shaped and slopingsurfaces, it sometimes is impossible to place the forward edge of theshield itself close enough to the rock face to wholly prevent the escapeof dust and larger particles to the atmosphere. To correct such acondition, therefore, three adjustable horizontalcurtain-supportingextension rods 6% are journalledfor sliding movement in suitable sleevemembers 6| secured to the outside of the top side Wall 52 and thevertical side walls 53 and 54 respectively, of the shield-member M, theconstruction and arrangement being such that the extension members maybe individually adjusted" to extend variable distances forwardly of theopen front end of the shield. Each sleeve Si is provided with a setscrew 62 for setting the rods in adjusted position.

As shown in Fig. ll, when the apparatus of Figs. 8, 9, and 10 is to beused for piercing holes in an irregularly-shaped rock having a slopingsurface, the shield S is mounted for sliding movement on the blowpipeB", which extends through the aperture 45 and the sleeve 59. The shieldalso may be supported by a tripod T, if desired, which is pivotallysecured to the shield S" in any suitable manner. The extension rods 66are adjusted individually in the sleeves 6i so" that their forward endscontact the surface of the rock to adapt the apparatus thereto; and aflexible sheet 63 of canvas or similar material is supported by theextension rods kill and the side walls of the shield-member 44. Thus acurtain is formed which substantially encloses the mouth of the hole andthe adjacent rock surface onthree sides so that the escape of dust andsmall flying fragment to the outside atmosphere will be prevented.

Although the shields of the invention have been described particularlyin connection withthermal rock piercing blowpipes, it is evident thatthey may be used with other types of rock piercing or cutting equipmentwithout departing from the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for piercing holes in rock and the like comprising, incombination, a piercing instrumentality; a shield mounted on saidpiercing instrumentality, said shield being adapted to be positionedadjacent to the rock or the like to bepierced; extension membersadjustably secured to said shield; a curtain supported by said extensionmembers; and means for discharging a spray of liquid against the surfaceof such rock or the like adjacent to such hole.

2. Apparatus for rock piercing comprising, in combination, a shieldmember open at one end and having side walls and a rear wall, said rearwall having an aperture for the passage of a rock piercing device; atubular nozzle block secured within said shield member, said blockhaving a bore aligned with said aperture for the passage of a rockpiercing device; said nozzle block having a distributing chamber; spraynozzles secured to said nozzle block in communication with said chamber;and means providing an inlet tosaid chamber.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said spray nozzles areconstructed and arranged to discharge sprays of liquid from the open endof said shield member in such directions that the axes thereof increasein distance from the longitudinal axis of said nozzle block as thedistance from said nozzles increases.

4. In combination, a shield member open at one end and having sidewalls, and a rear wall at its opposite end, said rear wall having anaperture; a tubular nozzle block secured to said rear wall within saidshield member and aligned with said aperture, the inner peripheralsurface of said nozzle block having a continuous recess; a sleeve fittedwithin said nozzle block and covering said recess, thereby forming acontinuous chamber; a plurality of spray nozzles secured to said nozzleblock in communication with said chamber, said nozzles beingsubstantially equispaced around said sleeve, and said nozzles beingconstructed and arranged to discharge generally flat sprays of liquidfrom said shield in such directions that the axes thereof increase indistance from each other and from the longitudinal axis of said sleeveas the distance from said nozzles increases, such sprays overlapping oneanother externally of said shield; and means providing an inlet to saidchamber.

5. In combination, a shield member open at one end and having sidewalls, and a rear wall at its opposite end, said rear wall having anaperture; a sleeve aligned with said aperture and secured to the outsideof said wall; a header secured to the outside of said wall; a pluralityof spray nozzles in said shield member communicating with said header;and means providing an inlet to said header.

6. The combination defined in claim 5, also including means whereby saidshield member may be attached to a supporting member.

7. In combination, a shield member open at one end and having sidewalls, and a rear wall at its opposite end, said rear wall having anapproximately centrally arranged aperture; a sleeve aligned with saidaperture and secured to the outside of said wall; an annular headersecured to the outside of said wall surrounding said aperture; meansproviding an inlet to said header; a plurality of substantiallyequi-spaced nipples secured to said header and extending into saidshield member; and a spray nozzle secured to each of said nipples.

8. In combination, a shield member comprising side Walls and a rear endwall, said shield member being open at its front end; said rear wallhaving an aperture for the passage of a rock piercing device; means fordischarging a spray of liquid from said shield member through the openend thereof; and means for flowing a stream of liquid over the bottomside wall of said shield member.

9. In combination, a shield member comprising side walls and a rear endwall, said shield member being open at its front end; said rear wallhaving an aperture for the passage of a rock piercing device; mean fordischarging a spray of liquid from said shield member through the openend thereof; and extension members adjustably secured to said shieldmember and adapted to project beyond the open end thereof.

10. The combination defined in claim 9, also including a curtainsupported by said extension members. I

11. In combination, a shield member comprising ide walls and a rear endwall, said shield member being open at its front end; said rear wallhaving an aperture providing a sleeve; means for discharging a spray ofliquid from said shield member through the open end thereof; a secondsleeve intermediate said rear wall and the open end of said shieldaligned with such aperture; and mean for supporting said second sleeve,

12. In combination, a shield member comprising side Walls and a rear endwall, said shield member being open at its front end; said rear wallhaving an aperture providing a sleeve; a tubular sleeve intermediatesaid rear wall and the open end of said shield aligned with suchaperture; means for supporting said tubular sleeve; a generally circularheader secured to said shield member around such aperture; inlet meansassociated with said header; a plurality of substantially equi-spacedspray nozzles communicating with said header and adapted to discharge aliquid spray from said shield member through the open end thereof; and anozzle communicating with said header and arranged to discharge a streamof liquid within said shield member upon the bottom side wall thereof.

13. Appartus for piercing holes in rock or the like comprising, incombination, a hollow dish shaped shield adapted to be positioned closeto the surface of a rock or the like to be pierced for arresting flyingparticles of rock, said shield having a side wall, a rear wall, and anopen front end; a sleeve associated with said shield; a long piercingblowpipe having a front end, and a long tubular portion extendingrearwardly from said front end, said tubular portion passing throughsaid sleeve and said shield and being freely slidable therein, saidsleeve fitting said tubular portion closely to prevent the escape ofparticles of rock and the like; means for spraying liquid through theopen front end of said shield from a plurality of points within saidshield spaced laterally from said sleeve, said means being soconstructed and arranged that said sprays of liquid will impinge uponthe surface of such rock or the like surrounding the mouth of a holebeing pierced and in spaced relation thereto; and means for supplyingliquid to said last-named means.

14. In combination, a shield member open at one end and having sidewalls, and a rear wall at its opposite end, said rear wall having anaperture; a tubular nozzle block secured to said rear wall within saidshield member and aligned with said aperture, the inner peripheralsurface of said nozzle block having a continuous recess; a sleeve fittedwithin said nozzle block and covering said recess, thereby forming acontinuous chamber; means in communication with said chamber fordischarging liquid spray from said shield through said open end; andmeans providing an inlet to said chamber.

15. Apparatus for piercing holes in rock and the like comprising, incombination, a tubular blowpipe having an inlet and an outlet for water,said blowpipe being adapted to conduct such water therethrough inheat-exchange relation thereto, for cooling the blowpipe beforedischarge of such water from said blowpipe through said outlet; a shieldslidably mounted on said blowpipe, said shield having side and rearwalls and an open front end; spray nozzles associated with said shieldand arranged to discharge overlapping sprays of water against thesurface of such rock surrounding the mouth of such hole, for laying dustdischarged from such hole during a piercing operation; and flexibleconduit means establishing communication between said nozzles and saidoutlet for supplying to said nozzles the water discharged from saidoutlet.

16. Apparatus for piercing a hole in rock or the like comprising, incombination, a tubular blowpipe having inlet means and outlet means fora liquid, aid blowpipe being adapted to conduct such liquid therethroughin heat-exchange relation thereto for cooling the blowpipe beforedischarge from said blowpipe through said outlet means; a shieldslidably mounted on said blowpipe and adapted to be positioned adjacentto the mouth of such hole; liquid discharge means associated with saidshield for discharging a spray of liquid against the surface of suchrock or the like adjacent to the mouth of such hole, for laying dustdischarged from such hole during a piercing operation; and conduit meansfor conducting liquid from said outlet means to said liquid dischargemeans. a

17. Rock piercing apparatus comprising, in combination, a shield havingside walls, and a rear end Wall provided with an aperture for thepassage of a rock piercing device, said shield being open at it frontend; and a plurality of extension members slidably mounted on saidshield, the construction and arrangement being such that said extensionmembers may be individually adjusted to extend variable distancesforwardly of the open front end of said shield, thereby adapting saidapparatus to a mass of rock having an irregular shape.

ROBERT E. AITCHISON. CHARLES J. BURCH.

